Title

Author

Award Date

Degree Type

Degree Name

Department

Psychology

First Committee Member

Mark A. Ashcraft

Second Committee Member

David E. Copeland

Third Committee Member

Colleen Parks

Fourth Committee Member

Gabriele Wulf

Number of Pages

45

Abstract

The following paper presents a study investigating adult number line estimation patterns through use of an eye tracker. Estimation patterns were examined by changing the range of the number line on which the estimations occur from the typical ranges of 0-100 and 0-1000 to a more difficult range of 0-723. There were two main conditions of the experiment; in one condition the number to estimate and the number line were presented simultaneously, and in the other condition, the number line presentation was delayed. In each of the two conditions of the experiment, eye fixations and area of interest analysis were examined to help reveal the mathematical processes behind number line estimations, specifically how these estimations are formed. It was predicted that the 723 line would have significantly more errors and take longer to complete than the 1000 line. The results provide evidence that cognitive processes are involved in estimation and that estimation is in fact a slow process.